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Captain Marvel aka Billy Batson led a hard life. When he was a child, his parents, CC and Marylin Batson, were betrayed and killed by their assistant Theo Adam while on an archaeological dig in Egypt. Separated from his twin sister Mary, Billy was forced to live with his uncle Ebenezer who took all of Billy's trust fund money and cast him out into the streets. Billy sold newspapers and slept in subway terminals. All he had was half of a locket given to him by his mother. He longed for a family to belong to. One night, a vision of his father persuaded Billy to climb aboard a train covered in mystic runes. Once aboard, Billy was transported to the deepest of caverns in the Earth.

At the entrance, Billy came upon several statues that represented the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man: Pride, Envy, Lust, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness and Injustice. Billy then met the wizard Shazam, who was seated on a throne with a large stone block hovering above him. Shazam chose Billy to succeed him and imbued him with all of his powers. Shazam instructed Billy that by speaking his name, a lightning bolt would appear and grant him power. The lightning bolt is a physical manifestation of Shazam's power. When in contact with Billy, the bolt transforms him into the very adult Captain Marvel granting him invulnerability, flight, super speed and super strength.

The power of Shazam is said to have originated from abilities donated by the Old Gods (Greek and Roman); the wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. After Captain Marvel transformed back to Billy for the first time, the bolt hit the hovering stone block and made it crush the wizard. Shazam did not die, instead he gave Billy a fond farewell and traveled to the Rock of Eternity, a peak that exists outside of time and space. For all this power, Billy vowed to uphold all that is good and fight the never-ending battle against the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. Billy returned to his home of Fawcett City and enrolled at CC Binder Elementary School, lived at a halfway house for orphans, and fought various super villains. Over time, Captain upheld his vow and his honest soul has earned him the title of "the World's Mightiest Mortal".

Batson looked forward to fighting evil alongside his idols, including Batman, and got the chance when Blockbuster attacked a museum. However, Marvel was quickly distracted by a rare complete Triceratops skeleton display. Soon after, Captain Marvel was lured to downtown Fawcett City by Dr. Sivana. He actually stole some transformative lightning and used it to summon Shazam's first champion, Black Adam. Marvel recognized Shazam's symbol and felt a kinship to him. Confused and in need of answers, Batson took Batman with him to talk with Shazam. Dr. Sivana, his children, and Black Adam secrety followed them using a tracer planted on Marvel. Now empowered, Dr. Sivana was an even match for Captain Marvel but Batman's wits saved the day. Batman investigated Batson's background and discovered he had a living relative, a twin sister. He reunited Batson with her, Mary, and introduced her adopted parents, the Bromfield's.

Billy Batson was one of the few heroes to survive the Faceless Hunter's coordinated attacks and regrouped with Batman, Booster Gold, B'Wana Beast, and Firestorm. Ultimately, Shazam's lightning proved to be the most effective weapon to defeat and kill Starro. In the aftermath, Captain Marvel made sure every hero was accounted for. However, Aquaman was still infected and B'Wana Beast was still missing. Faceless Hunter used B'Wana's power to fuse Starro and its clones into a Star Conqueror beast, immune to Captain Marvel's lightning and power overload.

After the invasion, his sister was also given superpowers. Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel teamed up to save the life of a newsboy, Freddy Freeman, by giving him superpowers, too. He took the codename Captain Marvel Junior. Together, the trio formed the Marvel Family and kept Fawcett City safe from evil. However, during a raid at the Fawcett City Hadron Collider, Mr. Mind used his thought control to manipulate the trio into fighting amongst themselves and disbanding. Batman was able to convince them to reconsider. Captain Marvel was first on the scene to aid Batman challenge a transformed Mr. Mind. Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior soon arrived, too. Once the battle was over and Batman was restored to his regular age, the Marvel Family reunited. Captain Marvel later became a member of the Justice League International.

As Captain Marvel is really a kid, he displays many childish tendencies. For instance, as he is about to thank Batman for his help in fighting Blockbuster, he is distracted by the triceratops skeleton that he had told another kid about earlier in the episode. He quickly apologizes to Batman and runs off to see the exhibit.

Billy also felt the strong urge for a family, holding onto his mother's necklace as the most valued of all his possessions and desiring nothing more than a family. Billy also exhibits positive character traits, showing self-restraint by not using his powers against the bullies in his orphanage.

Billy Batson uses the magic word SHAZAM to transform into Captain Marvel and every letter of the word stands for a different power or ability.

S for the Wisdom of Solomon: Grants Captain Marvel enhanced intellect that allows him to come up with solutions to incredibly long and complicated problems and solutions. He is also able to innately speak any language, and can hypnotize another person with just his voice, though the latter power was used rarely.

H for the Strength of Hercules: Grants Captain Marvel incredible superhuman strength that is comparable to the strength possessed by Superman .

A for the Stamina of Atlas : Grants Captain Marvel superhuman stamina, makes him self-sustaining, and gives him an incredible healing factor.

Z for the Power of Zeus: Grants Captain Marvel incredible resistance to magic, allows him to heal himself after he has suffered severe damage, enhances all his physical and mental abilities, and transforms him from his preteen form into his Captain Marvel form. He can also dodge the lightning bolt and use it as a weapon.

A for the Courage of Achilles: Grants Captain Marvel vast physical resistance to damage, making him virtually invulnerable. It also grants him incredible inner strength, that allows him to resist mental assaults and manipulation, and to have the courage to face anything.

M for the Speed of Mercury: Grants Captain Marvel the ability to fly, superhuman speed, superhuman agility, and superhuman reflexes all at supersonic speeds.

If Captain Marvel is hit by lightning in his super form, he immediately turns back into Billy. Billy can also be prevented from turning into Captain Marvel if he is gagged or otherwise rendered unable to utter his magic word out loud. While Billy has the physical form of an adult as Captain Marvel, he still has the personality of a child his age, which may make him too trusting at times.